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Peter Jackson typically offers a wealth of great material to bolster the Blu-ray releases of his films, but on his latest, for The Desolation Of Smaug, he gives fans the chance to experience 24 hours of The Hobbit. No, it’s not some Extended Edition of the second installment in the series, or even a megacut of all of his J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations, but a documentary (admittedly not in real time) about what happens on a daily basis on the set of Jackson’s film. And in spite of the reams of behind-the-scenes footage the filmmaker has churned out about the franchise, the featurette manages to be some of Jackson’s most interesting bonus content to date.

Not of course that the rest of the Blu-ray is anything less than up to Jackson’s tough standards. Split across two discs, the film’s 3D presentation is pretty incredible – even better than how An Unexpected Journey looked, possibly. (Perhaps my eyes have adjusted to the high frame rate photography since then, or Jackson utilized a different approach with his editing for the second film.) Although these films have received decidedly mixed reactions from fans – even diehards of the Rings trilogy – they just seem to work better on the small screen, where their protracted running times can be experienced almost episodically, like three back-to-back Game of Thrones episodes, maybe.

Although there are no commentary tracks on the disc, the remainder of the bonus features – including that short documentary – are all engaging and insightful, avoiding replicating information from earlier films or home video releases. Like its predecessors, the release includes production diaries, which may in fact serve as even better material for budding filmmakers looking for an inside perspective on the process. But their focus here is on pick-up shooting and music scoring, the former of which feels especially important to a saga like this: based on reactions to the first chapter – either critically or narratively – it stands to reason they may have gone back to reshoot footage to make certain details clearer, change the emphasis on something that was specifically popular or unpopular, or strengthen the connective tissue between set pieces.

And then, of course, there’s “Peter Jackson Invites You To The Set.” Divided into two parts, the documentary chronicles 24 hours of the production, albeit not all from the same day. For example, the “lunch” portion of the day features a montage of a few different cast and crew members’ birthdays, including Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis. But starting in the wee hours of the morning, it looks at the schedules and routines of the drivers, set designers, make-up artists, costumers, visual effects team members, camera crew, director Peter Jackson, and then the actors. It feels a bit like a long, slow zoom from the widest possible shot of the production to the narrowest, showcasing all of the work that goes into making Orlando Bloom or Evangeline Lilly’s performance believable and emotionally authentic, before they step foot on set.

While I can’t imagine what they could, or should add to The Desolation Of Smaug to make its Extended Edition worthwhile, I said the same thing about An Unexpected Journey, and then the longer cut changed my opinion roundly on the film. But as-is, the second film in this series (and its accompanying Blu-ray) is mostly as appealing as it was when it was released in theaters; in other words, if you liked it then, this creates a more intimate but still thrilling experience, and if you didn’t, it will probably seem more tedious than ever. But watching that 24-hour snapshot of the production, you’re reminded how many people put so much time and effort into bringing The Hobbit to life, and it’s so impressive that whether or not you’re a fan, it just might make you want to go there and back again, one more time.